Introduction
Considered a place of beauty and loaded with spiritual significance, Nikko provides Tokyoites with a calming antidote to busy city life.
This area of mountains, hot springs and forests has been a place of pilgrimage for centuries, with many important Buddhist and Shinto shrines and temples, sacred mountains and bridges.
Perhaps the biggest draw is Toshogu, a UNESCO World Heritage Site home to the mausoleum where the first Tokugawa shogun, Ieyasu, is buried. It's an ornate, colourful and dramatic sight and visitors can easily spend half a day marvelling here.
